The invention relates to an operating element for a motor vehicle component, having an actuating element that is movably supported in a carrier element and acts, in particular, on a switch element. The invention further relates to a motor vehicle component comprising an operating unit having at least one operating element, and a further movable component.
In order to operate motor vehicle components such as, for example, a radio set, a navigation unit, a car phone, a multimedia installation and the like, use is frequently made of operating and display devices that are arranged ergonomically in the vehicle. In this case, the display device should be arranged such that the driver can detect the latter with the least possible distraction from the road traffic. The display unit is therefore preferably arranged in the region of the dashboard or in the upper region of a central console. The operating unit is preferably arranged such that the driver can reach it with his fingers without extensive arm movement. However, this arrangement of the operating unit has the disadvantage that the operating unit can be only very poorly detected in optical terms. The driver will therefore frequently select the operating element of the operating unit without making visual contact with the keys. It is therefore desirable to detect the approach of the driver's hand to an operating element in order thus, for example, to be able to output in the display device a reference to the type of the operating element or to the function to be operated thereby, or else to be able to output an acoustic reply before the operating element has been actuated and the action associated therewith has been executed. In addition, movable components such as, for example, a CD slot may be located in the region of the central console in which the operating unit is arranged, for example, such that, furthermore, a movement of this further component may not falsely be interpreted as an approach of an operator's hand to the operating element.